“Yeah, something got away from me there. I wish Harlie wasn’t unconscious right now.” She rubbed her arms. Weak, dizzy, and now extremely cold. “I’m going back into the van.” And put on every bit of clothing she could find.
Caradoc nodded and followed her. “I’m taking the damn bugs off of it. My tech worked, but I think we’d rather not be followed by homicidal clones.” He held the door open for her. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look awful.”
Aisling laughed. “Nice brotherly love there. I think the spell just took too much out of me. If Stella hadn’t stopped it by tackling me, I’m not sure what would have happened to you, or me.” She’d thought having access to the power she’d been born with was a good thing. She was seriously rethinking that.
“That’s not good. Stay here and rest; we’ll be on our way soon.” He patted her arm then went bug hunting.
AISLING HADN’T MEANT to fall asleep, but she had been in a dark void, no sound, no light. Then voices, low ones, caught her attention and the rumble of a vehicle moving brought her awake. “What happened?”
“We were hoping to get to Luton before you woke up. You look awful.” Caradoc looked over to her and handed her a tissue. “And I think you were drooling.”
“What?” Aisling wiped her face but didn’t feel anything. “Funny.”
“How do you feel?” Stella’s concern came through in her voice and on her face as she looked back from the front seat.
“Probably better than I obviously look. At least judging by you two.” She rolled her shoulders but, like the rest of her, they were stiff and achy. “Where are we?”
Bart looked back in the rear-view mirror. “Heading into Luton. My friend isn’t home, but he set us up in a business rental unit and has his doorman waiting for us. Larkin and Jones are already there and will meet us in the lobby.”
They turned down a side road to an apartment building.
“We’re all going to stay in an apartment? For how long?” Aisling wanted a quiet room to herself, and a nice big bed. She might have fallen asleep on the drive, but it only seemed to make her sleepier.
“It’s a penthouse, actually,” Bart said as they pulled into a downwards ramp and the parking area. The building hadn’t appeared fancy enough for a penthouse, but at that point Aisling didn’t care. Food, shower, bed...that was her plan.
The parking level wasn’t full, but if people who lived there worked, they probably hadn’t come home yet. Her phone said it was four pm local time, but it felt so much later. Aisling started to grab her things, but Caradoc beat her to them.
“Yeah, still looking crappy. You saved me a lot of pain, time, and healing—least I can do is get your bags.” Him being nice and giving her a concerned smile made her worried. Whatever happened while she was unconscious, it had involved speculation about her condition. Enough to concern her optimistic brother.
Aisling was too tired to argue and instead followed Bart to the elevator with Stella and Caradoc behind. Reece and Jones were waiting for the elevator at the lobby level.
Reece’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Aisling. “What happened?”
“I look like shit. Thank you, I know.” Aisling gave him a small smile.
“I wasn’t going to say that, but yeah, you do.” The snarky Reece she knew before she got to know the real him showed up in his smile and she realized that was as much a part of who he was as anything else.
“Thanks. I had to heal Caradoc when Nix followed us and things went to hell.”
Reece looked to Bart who nodded. “I’ll fill you in when we get inside.”
The elevator stopped at what looked like the hall of a mansion, not an entrance to an apartment. There was nothing beyond a nicely ornate double door that opened into a spacious living room.
Aisling went to one of the plush sofas and dropped down. “I’m claiming the biggest bed. I’ll stay awake while I can but recommend a quick debriefing.” It had taken a lot out of her just to get this far. If Stella hadn’t been able to break her healing spell when she did, she’d probably be in a coma now.
Reece didn’t sit next to her on the sofa, but he did take the nearest chair to her.
“Okay, here’s what happened on our end.” Bart quickly told Reece and Jones about being followed. Then about Nix, his explosion, and Caradoc’s injuries.
“I don’t get it, so one Nix exploded in the hopes of taking Caradoc out, and another one drove away? Were there two when you turned on them?” Jones asked first, but Reece looked ready to ask the same.
“I’m pretty sure there was only one, when he came out there didn’t appear to be anyone else in the car—but something was there. Or he blew up and then just recompiled himself in the car.” Caradoc shrugged.
Stella held up an evidence bag. “I retrieved some samples of the remaining bits of the exploded one, but overall, there wasn’t enough there to have made a complete person.”
“Then Aisling healed me, got sucked too far into the spell, and Stella had to tackle her.” Caradoc nodded over toward Aisling. “She’s fading fast, folks.”
Aisling pulled herself up from where she’d slumped forward. “I’m awake, but yeah, talk fast you two. Any updates?”
Reece ran his fingers through his hair. “The airport is claiming that it was an engine failure that caused the plane to blow up. Ignoring the fact that the engines weren’t even on at the time of explosion and that there was a bomb detected. One they are now claiming was a mistake in their data. MI-6 has taken over that investigation, so not much coming out until they decide to rope in Area 42.”
“Sneaky agencies don’t play nicely together.” Aisling glanced at her phone, but there was nothing from Maeve yet.
“And the Area 42 safe house having a fire of suspicious origin?” Bart asked.
“Under investigation.” Jones shook his head. “Greely never came back around and the local office isn’t saying anything.”
“I can and will investigate the hell out of them,” Bart said. “There was no way that the attack on the house was an accident.”
“Since I really want to fall asleep right now, and we’re not sure what exactly I did with that spell, I’m heading to bed.” Aisling got to her feet, wobbled, and was caught by Reece.
“I’ll just make sure you don’t fall over before you get there.” His smile was tentative as he held her up.
Aisling nodded. Siren spell or not, she missed him, and it felt nice to have him hold her up. The feelings she had been developing for him had sure as hell felt real on her end. They just needed to find out for certain.
He got her to the first bedroom and sat her down on the bed. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”
Aisling laughed. “You are not going to help me get undressed. But thank you for helping me get here.”
He looked down at her for a few moments. “I really hope there hasn’t been siren influence going on.”
“Me too. Now go back out there before I do something stupid that I’ll probably fall asleep in the middle of.”
Reece kissed the top of her head, left the room, and shut the door behind him.
Chapter Thirty
Aisling felt herself running through the woods, but she wasn’t getting anywhere. A voice cut through her odd dream. It was Harlie.
“Follow the necklace.” His words were drawn out and sounded like a lot of effort came behind them.
“Harlie? Are you talking to me in my sleep?” Aisling stopped running but the trees kept flying by. Great, a dream with a tree treadmill.
“Follow the necklace.”
“Are you all right?”
“Necklace.”
“Harlie, can you say anything else?”
“No.”
“You just did!”
“Just follow the necklace and keep your heart open. I will be okay. Stop Nix.” There was a popping sound, the trees stopped, and Aisling found herself awake in the bedroom.
She had no idea what time it was, or how long she�
��d been asleep. She’d climbed into bed in a t-shirt and shorts, so she rolled out of bed, hit the light, and looked at the time before she changed clothes. She wasn’t as bone-dead weary as she had been, but she could still go back to sleep if need be.
Three-forty-five a.m. on the dot. Leave it to Harlie to pick a witching time. Between three and four were said to be times when all the veils, not just the one to the old world, were thinnest. Harlie was a strong believer in the old ways. She rolled back into bed and massaged her temples. Follow the necklace. That made no sense, unless it was planning on pulling her around. A quick check verified it was still around her neck and not looking ready to go anywhere. Harlie’s spell to keep the additional markings hidden was holding even though he was unconscious. It just looked like a high-end, silver Celtic knot. One that wouldn’t go past her ears.
Stopping Nix was fairly obvious, but she wondered if Harlie’s subconscious awareness, or whatever was communicating with her, knew about the recent attack and a way to stop Nix. So far he, or they, hadn’t been causing trouble, beyond almost blowing up Caradoc. But she didn’t think that had been intended. That clone, copy, whatever he was, had been assigned to follow them. The blowing up appeared to be a handy distraction after he was caught. And something the real Nix would do just to be an asshole.
Which brought her to her weird power surge while trying to heal Caradoc. It hadn’t felt like her healing magic at all. In a way, it wasn’t. This magic contained the potential her mother had blocked. And it kicked her ass.
She tried to let the thoughts go. But the feeling of pure panic when she’d healed Caradoc and her magic kept going deeper wouldn’t vanish. Was that why her mother blocked it? That she had some wild magic that no one could control? Could her mother have done it to protect her?
The laugh that thought caused was almost loud enough to wake the others had they not been in a high-end place with thick walls. If blocking her magic helped Aisling in any way, it had been a side effect, not an intention.
She stayed in bed, but her thoughts kept running around too much for sleep. A flashing light on her phone caught her attention. It hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
A blocked number. That wasn’t good. Caradoc’s security system would have done its best to break down where random numbers came from, so one actually showing as blocked even after his system got at it was a concern.
Of course, MI-6 and Area 42 both could have probably bypassed his system. She didn’t think anyone beyond Maeve would be calling her, and since it would be almost four am for Maeve as well, that was doubtful. There was no way she’d go to sleep with that light blinking—she was already too awake and curious. She hit play on the voicemail and almost dropped the phone.
It was her mother.
“Aisling. It is vital that you contact me. Do not tell either of your brothers, or anyone you’re with, that I have called you. You are in serious danger, and I feel that Harlie has betrayed you. This is a secure line, call me when you get this message.” Definitely her mother’s voice, but the fear and concern sounded genuine and not at all like her normal condescending annoyance.
Aisling’s immediate response was to delete the message, but the fact it had punched through Caradoc’s security needed to be examined, so she saved it and shut down her phone. She’d play it for everyone in the morning.
A wave of fatigue smacked into her again, and since it was still too early to deal with anything, she gave into it, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
THE KNOCKING SOUNDED like it was coming from inside her head, but once Aisling fought to wake up, she realized it was the door.
“Hold on, let me get dressed.” Her sleepwear covered everything, but she’d feel better fully clothed.
“Are you okay?” It was Reece, and he didn’t sound okay himself. It was his voice, but pitched differently, like he was doing one of his undercover jobs. A slightly slimy one.
Aisling cracked open the door, kept mostly behind it, and peeked out. “I’m fine, why?” She almost shut the door when she saw him and déjà vu hit her from a few weeks ago. He was wearing low-slung sweatpants and no shirt and looked as groggy as she felt. And he looked good enough to eat. Damn him. That was the last thing her exhausted psyche or libido needed at this point.
“There’s been an accident, back home. I didn’t know if anyone had called you.” He still sounded odd, and his normally gray eyes were light and vacant.
“No, no one. What kind of accident?” A chill went up her spine and she kept one foot braced against the door. It was morning, but not late. She couldn’t hear anyone else in the living room.
“Caradoc’s house blew up. Lots of damage. The entire neighborhood is gone. Where was Mott?”
His voice deepened, now not sounding as slimy as before, but flat and menacing. Whoever this was, he wasn’t Reece. Or it might be his body, but he wasn’t inside.
“Oh, Mott left for New York, remember? Caradoc will be upset that his place in the mountains blew up. Do they know how?” She kept her voice as flat as he had. Easiest to lie and see what this not-Reece’s reaction was.
“Yes, the mountains, that was a nice place. I’d forgotten about Mott.” He pushed on the door. “Can we talk? Just us?”
Aisling held the door in place. “Not right now, where are the others?”
“Sleeping.” The grin was not Reece at all. He stopped pushing on the door, and she came forward as the pressure she’d been holding against vanished. Once she was off balance, he slammed the door open.
Aisling stumbled back but managed to stay out of his reach. She knew where she’d seen that smile before.
Nix’s clone.
Reece/Nix came for her, but she kicked his chest hard enough to send him across the room. He immediately came back at her.
This time she let him get closer, then wrapped her arms around his torso and forced pain filled anti-healing magic into his sides. She was more aware this time of the buildup of the additional magic in her system and pushed to keep it back. She wasn’t sure if this was some sort of duplicate of Reece or if he was possessed, so she wanted to hurt, not kill. Not yet anyway.
She hung on tighter as Reece kept trying to pull away from her. His breath came in ragged gasps and finally he collapsed. The bruising around his chest and waist was intense already.
Aisling jumped away from him, ran to the nightstand, grabbed her gun, and aimed it at him. But he didn’t move aside from the ragged up and down of his sides as he fought to breathe.
This was a problem. If he was faking it, he’d grab her as soon as she tried for the door. But if it was actually Reece’s body, he was going to need help. Her shirt started tugging at her and she wondered if he’d gotten something on her while they fought. Nope, it was the damn pendant. Moving toward Reece.
“I wish Harlie were here, or if he could be a bit more forthcoming about his advice.” The pendant pulled out from her shirt and was now pointing toward Reece as if it was some sort of deranged hunting dog. “I get it. You want me to go to him. Ya see, I don’t want him to grab me, and to get you closer would let him do that.” The pendant didn’t care and kept tugging.
“Why would Harlie be involved?” Reece’s words came out in gasps, she might have broken a rib or two. But the eyes that finally opened were Reece’s. “What?” He lifted his head but didn’t move more than that.
“You attacked me. You were acting weird before, but I’m not sure that you’re really you now.” She came forward a bit but kept her gun steady.
“I attacked you? Then why do I feel like a giant snake had me in a death squeeze?” He looked down, noticing what he was wearing. “I think I would get dressed before I attacked anyone.”
The slamming of doors and pounding of feet told her the others had heard the fight. That, or this was a full invasion.
Jones got there first, dressed casually, and with his gun out. “What in the hell?” He glanced at Aisling first, then Reece on the ground. “Do I even want to know what you t
wo were doing?” He lowered his gun but didn’t make a move forward.
Caradoc, Bart, and Stella came running up behind him.
“Something or someone took over Reece. Or replaced him. I think he’s himself now, but he tried to attack me. I think I broke a few of his ribs.” Aisling kept her gun up and on Reece. The eye color change was noticeable, but it might have just been something to do with how the copy was made. If it was a copy.
Stella shoved the men aside and darted to Reece. She peered into his eyes closely, one hand raised over his head. Aisling couldn’t tell what kind of spell she held in her fingers, but it didn’t look friendly as it sparked and crackled. “Tell me your name. Your full name.” She put a lot of weight into those words, most likely they were tied to the spell in her hand.
Reece didn’t pause. “Reece Deon Larkin.” He winced after he spoke. Yup, more than a few ribs were broken or cracked.
Stella dispersed the magic spell in her hands and rocked back on her heels. “Whoever he was before, he’s himself now. Signs of a possession are in his mind. A deep one too. But they are fading quickly.” She looked up to Aisling. “You can lower your gun and since you’re the only healer we have, you probably need to fix your handiwork.”
Aisling put her gun back on the nightstand and walked over to Reece and Stella. Her pendant wasn’t pulling as hard as before, but still tugged a bit.
“Did you have any problems magically hurting him?” Caradoc stepped around Bart and Jones.
“No. I felt the magic try to get stronger, but hurting magic is different from healing magic.” She shuddered to think what might have happened if she hadn’t been able to stop the extra magic mojo from kicking in while she fought Reece.
“Great, you can hurt people but not heal them.” Bart scowled down at Reece. “I can call someone from Area 42, but it will take a while.”
An Uncommon Truth of Dying (Broken Veil Book 2) Page 23